View source for Unless the senses are controlled, there is no chance of elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation. BG 1972 purports

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Unless the senses are controlled, there is no chance of elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|Alakananda}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|06May11}}
{{last|06May11}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=1|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=0|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Unless]]
[[Category:Control the Senses]]
[[Category:There Is No]]
[[Category:Chance]]
[[Category:Elevation]]
[[Category:Platform]]
[[Category:Knowledge]]
[[Category:Without]]
[[Category:Devotion]]
[[Category:Liberation]]
</div>
<div id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is" class="section" sec_index="0" parent="compilation" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is"><h2>Bhagavad-gita As It Is</h2>
</div>
<div id="BG_Chapters_1_-_6" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is" text="BG Chapters 1 - 6"><h3>BG Chapters 1 - 6</h3>
</div>
<div id="BG26_0" class="quote" parent="BG_Chapters_1_-_6" book="BG" index="45" link="BG 2.6" link_text="BG 2.6">
<div class="heading">Unless the senses are controlled, there is no chance of elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation.
</div>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:BG 2.6|BG 2.6, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">Nor do we know which is better—conquering them or being conquered by them. If we killed the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, we should not care to live. Yet they are now standing before us on the battlefield.</p>
</div>
<div class="purport text"><p>Arjuna did not know whether he should fight and risk unnecessary violence, although fighting is the duty of the kṣatriyas, or whether he should refrain and live by begging. If he did not conquer the enemy, begging would be his only means of subsistence. Nor was there certainty of victory, because either side might emerge victorious. Even if victory awaited them (and their cause was justified), still, if the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra died in battle, it would be very difficult to live in their absence. Under the circumstances, that would be another kind of defeat for them. All these considerations by Arjuna definitely proved that not only was he a great devotee of the Lord but he was also highly enlightened and had complete control over his mind and senses. His desire to live by begging, although he was born in the royal household, is another sign of detachment. He was truly virtuous, as these qualities, combined with his faith in the words of instruction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (his spiritual master), indicate. It is concluded that Arjuna was quite fit for liberation. Unless the senses are controlled, there is no chance of elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation. Arjuna was competent in all these attributes, over and above his enormous attributes in his material relationships.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>